


With a Twist

by KagekaNecavi



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Car Chases, M/M, honeypot mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 07:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5155313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KagekaNecavi/pseuds/KagekaNecavi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxy and Eggsy are both sent on a honeypot mission so that if one doesn't ensnare the mark, the other can. Things do not go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With a Twist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [missbecky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky/gifts).



“But Harry said this kind of mission doesn’t really happen.” Eggsy said, question clear in his voice, as he and Roxy were given their mission briefing. Standing next to the fake painting that contained the mission details, as long as everyone was wearing their glasses, Merlin sighed.

“It  _very rarely_  happens,” Merlin clarified, “James Bond and other fanciful spy movies like that have made honeypot missions seem far more frequent than they actually are. Generally the only time you’ll need to sleep with a mark on a mission will be if you’re deep cover.”

“Then why do you need us to try to seduce him now? And why both of us?” Roxy asked. Her glasses were just as clunky as everyone else’s. Eggsy thought it was a cute look on her. Not that he was in the market - he’s very happy with Harry. But being taken and recognizing that she looked cute with the clunky glasses were things that could peacefully coexist.

“Because this particular mark is the lead software engineer working for a company called Auctoritas. We we believe they’re developing software that is capable of universal decryption. It will be capable of getting into any computer system with ease - as if the security measures in place aren’t even there.” Merlin explained, pointing at the screen. On the screen appeared an image of a man in his early to mid twenties. He had dark skin, natural hair in long braids neatly tied back, and his eyes were crinkled in laughter, mouth open wide. He had his phone up against his ear, so presumably he was talking to someone on it, and thanks to the posture they could see a black ring on the middle finger of his right hand.

“That’s the mark?” Eggsy asked. Damn. If he didn’t have Harry, he’d try to figure out what pubs that guy liked to sleep with him anyway.

“Yes. His name is Leonard Walsh. He graduated university the top of his class at 15 and has been working for Auctoritas ever since. They recruited him before he graduated. We’ve been hearing rumors that they’re working on something that could be used to break into almost any computer system in the world, with ease.” Merlin explained, flipping to another screen. It showed a small office with a logo that was made of a large, stylized A in an archaic font - the office and logo for Auctoritas. They saw another screen, this one with several pictures of Walsh at a club in London. In most pictures he was alone, though in many he was also with a dark haired, white man with rainbow bracelets on his wrists. In some of the pictures Walsh was leaving with people - one person at a time, and he was indiscriminate about gender. Though in several of them he left with the man with the rainbow bracelets.

Merlin gestured to the screen. “That’s why both of you are going. We want you to try and sleep with Walsh. His company is developing the software, but when our cyber security team tried to hack into their company’s system they found no trace, so we believe that he is holding onto the software himself. We were unable to find it on his personal systems when we accessed those, either. One of his co-workers, when bribed, revealed that Walsh keeps particularly sensitive information on a thumb drive that he only works on when he manually disconnects his computer from the network, and he carries the drive on his person in a hidden pocket in his clothing. Apparently, Walsh is somewhat paranoid, and given the sensitive nature of what he’s working on, perhaps rightfully so.” Merlin handed both of them something that looked like a thumb drive, but was too large and was the wrong kind of port. Like the kind you’d plug a thumb drive into.

“That will clone his thumb drive. Once you’ve gone back to a hotel room with him, get him to fall asleep somehow - sleep with him and wait for him to go to sleep, drug him, hit him with a dart from your watch, whatever. He needs to be asleep long enough for you to search through his clothes and find the drive, plug it in, clone his drive, and put it back. The light on the end will light up green when it’s done.” Merlin explained. “If one of you goes back to a hotel with him, the other doesn’t need to.”

“And what about that bloke?” Eggsy asked, gesturing to the dark haired man in the pictures with Walsh. Since he showed up in so many of the pictures he could possibly be a complication.

“They do appear in public together quite a few times, however he shouldn’t be a factor. He is Daniel Garrett, and he’s an accountant. Their name is on the same lease, but when we asked Walsh’s co-workers they said he had a roommate and that was it.” Merlin said dismissively.

Eggsy wasn’t so sure about that. Garrett was wearing rainbow bracelets, so clearly he was into men, and Walsh seemed bisexual, and they were just roommates? How did they know that Walsh just wasn’t ready to come out at work? Eggsy had always been bisexual but had never come out until he was with Kingsman and Harry. And, yeah, Walsh left the bar with people that weren’t Garrett, but considering he only picked people up when he wasn’t out with Garrett, how did they know they weren’t going home to have a threesome with Garrett?

“When are we running the mission?” Roxy asked. If she had the same hesitance as Eggsy regarding Garrett, she didn’t show it.

“Friday.” Merlin said. “The club Walsh frequents is crowded that day, and the two of you will barely be noticed. If he’s not there that night, you’ll try again Saturday. And again every Friday and Saturday until we can get one of you to succeed.”

That was two days. More than enough time to get ready to go clubbing and to prepare to possibly sleep with someone who was not Harry.

* * *

 

“You’re actually assigned to a honeypot?” Harry asked, eyebrows arched, as they cooked dinner together. Eggsy had learned basics before - never anything very good, but how to follow the recipes on the backs of boxes - because in the house he grew up in he couldn’t really rely on an adult to be able to cook when dinner came around. So he’d learned how to make enough to get by. On the other hand, Harry was a great cook, and was teaching Eggsy how to do more. He liked helping Harry cook, chopping and stirring for him, standing side by side in the kitchen.

“Yeah! I was just as shocked as you are, trust me.” Eggsy said, shaking his head. He gestured at the risotto, “Should I add the wine now?”

“Yes, you should. And who is this man you might be sleeping with?” Harry asked.

“Don’t be jealous, love. You know you’re the only man for me.” Eggsy kissed Harry’s cheek. Harry’s lips twisted a little, half in a scowl and half in a smile, but he didn’t say anything until Eggsy admitted, “His name is Leonard Walsh. He’s a software engineer.”

“The mission is relatively low-danger, then?” Harry’s voice was tense, and Eggsy felt like a bit of a shite. Harry hadn’t been jealous, he’d been worried. A honeypot mission would make Eggsy very vulnerable, too. That openness was the whole point of it. Mostly on the mark’s side, but the nature of it would leave Eggsy exposed, too.

“Yes, it is. Rox is going, too, because we’re pretty sure the mark is bisexual.” Eggsy said, shrugging.

“Then at least you’ll have backup right there.” Harry nodded. He gave Eggsy a kiss and added, lips ghosting over Eggsy’s, “Stay safe.”

* * *

 

The next two days were strange. To prep for the mission, they had taken Eggsy and Roxy into classes to refresh them on how to seduce people, how best to get them into bed. They’d teased each other on how they were going to act and what they were going to say and do, of course, because attending those classes during their initial training had been awkward enough. It was fucking weird just the two of them and their trainer now.

They arrived separately at the club. Eggsy was wearing something very similar to what he wore during the train track test. A jacket, polo shirt, jeans, matching outlandish shoes, and a hat. Along with his Kingsman glasses, of course. He liked to think his sense of taste was a lot better now that he worked at Kingsman and got all kinds of fancy suits. But to be honest he still loved what he’d come to think of as his council clothes. It took up a portion of his closet and drawers in his house and the space he had for clothes in Harry’s house, and he wore it when he went out with Ryan and Jamal. He just had a better eye for how to match it, and a rapidly improving eye for the good suits for when he did stuff with Harry and for Kingsman.

Roxy was already at the club, dressed perfectly, of course, her makeup immaculate, and all of it coordinating - her dark blue dress with her makeup and her bag and her shoes, and her Kingsman glasses complemented by her eye makeup. She had a drink in her hand and winked at him across the room as she sauntered over to their mark, who was wearing a tight t-shirt and black jeans. She spoke with him for a little while, and Eggsy moved around the room, chatting with other people. He kept his attention half on Roxy and Walsh’s conversation, though, in case she needed help.

It seemed like she was doing a good job, chatting with him and getting some interest in return, until she asked him if he wanted to go to a hotel or something, and he declined, politely but firmly. Eggsy glanced over at them, and Walsh looked like he genuinely was sorry he didn’t want to go with her. That was odd.

Eggsy waited about fifteen or twenty minutes before he went over to try.

“Hey,” he said, smiling at Walsh, glancing up and down him with an appreciative look. A look that would have been pretty genuine if this hadn’t been for a mission and if he didn’t have Harry waiting for him at home.

“Hi,” Walsh said, smiling back a little. He held out a hand, and Eggsy shook it. “Leo. What’s your name?”

“Gary.” Eggsy had decided that simple was best. He wasn’t going for a huge cover story. Just something simple. He thought a moment about the accent he’d heard in Walsh’s voice. That hadn’t been part of the information from Merlin, but it might be a good icebreaker. “You from Cardiff?”

“Yep. Moved here for work.” Walsh shrugged. “Miss the ocean like breathing, though.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Eggsy said, “Though I bet it rains even more down there than it does in London.”

Walsh laughed and shrugged again, asking, “What about you, mate? You from around here? Sounds like it.”

“Yeah, I am.” Eggsy found himself trying to fight hard not to like this man. He had an easy laugh and a winning smile, and unlike some of the people Eggsy had already faced down - Valentine included - he didn’t seem like he was laughing at you when he did it. But his company was coding something that could get into any password, any firewall, any security measures currently out there, and he was the lead on it. He was the villain here. “How do you like it here? Found anybody to show you around?” Eggsy asked, smiling.

“I’ve lived here a few years now, and my roommate is local. He showed me this place, actually. I do like it here. More things to do, more job opportunities. It’s great.” Walsh nodded, before turning the question around, “What about you? I know a lot of people never like where they grew up.”

“Oh yeah. I didn’t used to, but I recently got a better job, moved to a better part of town, and I like it a lot better there.” Eggsy said, figuring that was vague enough to be safe.

“Sounds like you turned things around. That’s great.” Walsh smiled, and this smile was different, gentle and kind, and Eggsy really wished he wouldn’t do stuff like that. It was going to make thinking of him as the mark so much harder.

Eggsy grinned crookedly and said, pointing at himself, trying to lighten things up a little and get back to the mission, “I’m still rocking the council look, though.”

“Not many white boys can pull that look off with style, but you can.” Walsh laughed, raising his drink in salute.

“Glad to have your approval, Cardiff.” Eggsy saluted back with his own drink, and they clinked their glasses together, then drank. “You’re pretty stylish yourself. Especially your hair.”

“Thanks.” Walsh grinned wide. His eyes slid to someone else, something behind Eggsy catching his eye, and he laughed, “Oh, that guy is going to get a drink in his face in a second.”

Eggsy frowned and turned, and saw who Walsh was talking about. There was a very drunk man leaning over and harassing a woman who clearly wasn’t interested in what he had to say. “You think? I think he’s gonna get a knee if he keeps leaning over her.”

They watched for a few moments and then the man leaned over and said something in the woman’s ear. She made a face, reared back, kneed him, and tossed her drink in his face, storming off. Eggsy and Walsh both laughed, and Eggsy said, “Looks like we were both right.”

“That’s the thing I love about places like this. The people watching. Otherwise I might never come here at all.” Walsh said.

That admission surprised Eggsy, and also gave him an opening. He felt his stomach flutter with nerves - he didn’t want to do this, not really, but he had to for the mission - as he asked, “Well if you aren’t all that fond of places like this, how about we go somewhere else? A little bit more private?”

A moment before Eggsy had spoken, Walsh had looked pretty pleased with their conversation, teasing about the other people in the club and just chatting. After he’d suggested they go elsewhere, it was like all the emotion drained off of Walsh’s face. The complete turnaround startled Eggsy. “I don’t really do one night stands. But … ” Walsh checked his watch, and Eggsy checked his own, too. It was around 11pm, “if you’ve got an all night coffee shop in mind, I wouldn’t mind that.”

“No, that’s not really what I had in mind.” Eggsy admitted, and he heard Merlin make a frustrated noise over the glasses. He and Rox had both struck out, and they were both really fucking attractive! What was with this guy?

“Yeah, I figured. Most people are after the sex, you know?” Walsh … looked resigned. It was weird. Eggsy could read his facial expressions, but he couldn’t figure out what any of them _meant_. It was like being unable to read anything off of him at all.

“They are.” Eggsy agreed. “And, hey, just because I’m into you like that doesn’t mean I can’t keep chatting with you.”

“Okay. Well, then, you look like you’re done with your drink. How about we get a refill?” Walsh suggested, sounding a little hesitant.

“Works for me.” Eggsy said, and they drifted over to the bar, calling the bartender over and getting a refill. It was loud there, and wasn’t conducive to conversation, so they didn’t try to talk. However, he did hear Merlin in his ear.

“Mordred? Lancelot just saw a potential threat.” Since Eggsy couldn’t respond to what Merlin was saying, he reached up and fiddled with his glasses, as confirmation, and Merlin continued, “I’ve got her scanning the crowd, and she saw several large, burly men enter the room. I checked who they are, and they’re security guards for Auctoritas.”

That was interesting. Why would Auctoritas’ security guards be coming here? Eggsy glanced around to see who Merlin meant and once he’d spotted them - it wasn’t hard, they were coming right for them through the crowded club and Eggsy could see the bulges of the guns under their criminally cheap suits - he turned to see if Walsh had seen them yet. Walsh’s eyes were wide and he looked, honestly, about ready to shit his pants.

“Do you know them?” Eggsy asked, jerking a thumb at the security guys.

“Yeah. I work with them. Or, well, used to, I guess.” Walsh said and abandoned his newly refreshed drink on the counter, tossing bills at the bartender. He grabbed Eggsy’s hand and dragged him away. “Do you have a car or a bike?”

“Yeah, I came in a car.” Kingsman had lent Eggsy one of their cars, a custom souped up Shelby that wasn’t brand new, but wasn’t a classic either. They wanted it back in one piece. Eggsy had made no promises.

“Let’s go. Please. They’re after me. I didn’t do anything wrong, not really, and I’ll explain, but please drop me off at the police station or something.” Walsh said, tugging Eggsy towards the back exit.

“No problem, mate. Let’s go.” Eggsy said, picking up the pace. The security guys picked up the pace, too, and Eggsy and Walsh burst out the back door together. Walsh let go of Eggsy’s hand as Eggsy jogged off towards where he’d parked the Shelby. The door slammed open behind them, and Eggsy hissed, “They’re carrying guns. Crouch down and make sure you don’t get hit.”

Walsh nodded, crouching down, hiding behind the cars in the alley and along the street, continuing to follow Eggsy and flinching when he heard a gun go off behind them. A window shattered out of a car a few feet away, and they moved faster. Eggsy popped his head up to check how close they were and swore. The security guys were still pretty close to the door, and while he had closer range weapons on him, he didn’t have anything that would be effective at this distance.

They turned a corner and there was the car, though, and Eggsy unlocked it. “Get in, fast.” Walsh nodded, sliding into the passenger seat as Eggsy slid into the driver’s seat. The car was dark blue with a white stripe down the middle, and the sort of strange clunky yet sleek look that American muscle cars had. They could be tough as tits to get through narrow spaces, but the horsepower made up for it.

“Get him talking, Mordred. Don’t take him to the police until we have a good idea of what’s going on. It seems like our information is incomplete.” Merlin instructed, then added, “Lancelot, follow the security guards.”

“On it.” Rox said.

“So what’s going on?” Eggsy asked as he pulled the car into the street, smoothly.

Walsh said, in a rush, “I stole a program from my bosses because it can be used to make privacy a thing of the past, and it doesn’t work yet but another few years and it will, and I couldn’t let them do that. So I stole it and put a fake on their servers instead, something that _really_  doesn’t work, and won’t ever, but looks to an exec like it might. I think they figured it out, and sent their security guys after me.”

Eggsy had now sharply pulled into an alleyway, turning to look at Walsh - at Leo - with disbelief. “What were you planning on doing with this program?”

“I tried dropping a few hints around intelligence agencies but nobody seemed to give a fuck. Or to even believe me!” Leo said, despair on his features.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Merlin said over the glasses. Eggsy heartily agreed. “Bring him here, Mordred. Get out of that alley first! You know better than just sitting around like a fucking sitting duck.”

“My name is Eggsy Unwin.” Eggsy said, maneuvering them out of the alley. Of course he was going to do as Merlin said, and he had a gut instinct telling him to trust Leo, but this could still blow up on them. They could always just dose him with an amnesia dart if they needed to. He heard a gunshot go off behind them and swore, then said, “Duck, and keep your head low. The glass in this car is bulletproof, but I don’t want to test that out with your head. Anyway. Eggsy, also known as Mordred. I work for an agency known as Kingsman. We’re better than MI:6 or the CIA or Interpol or Mossad or any of ‘em. We’ll keep your program safe.”

“Is that why you wanted to sleep with me?!” Leo asked, ducking like he’d been instructed to but looking up at Eggsy with wide eyes. “Were you trying to get the program?”

“Yeah.” Eggsy glanced in the rearview. There was a very nondescript SUV behind them, and he could see one of the security guys leaning out of it, gun in hand, and he could also barely see the silver Bentley Roxy was using behind that. This would be fun. “You’re coming to Kingsman’s base, not the police. But first we lose the guys behind us.”

Leo glanced over the seat, then hunched back down. It was a big car, and he had the room - thank fuck for the Yanks, and their need to make everything gigantic. “Well at least this thing is going to get in the right hands.”

“You’re just trusting that I’m the right hands after that?” Eggsy asked, eyebrows arched. “You’re taking me at my word that I’m who I say I am?”

“Well if you’re not you’d probably just shoot me and take it, rather than trying to seduce me to take it and then saving my ass. Besides, if you know the right places to look online, people started talking about Kingsman after V-day.” Leo said, shrugging.

“Fucking hell.” Merlin growled.

“Not anymore.” Eggsy muttered. Merlin would put a stop to _that_  right away.

“Wait, was that woman one of yours, too?” Leo asked, frowning a little.

“Dark blue dress, wearing glasses?” Eggsy asked, wrenching the wheel around, taking a side street suddenly, shifting down and breaking so they didn’t spin out of control and shifting up and accelerating out of the turn.

“She was wearing glasses like yours, yeah. Also, you drive like a fucking maniac.” One of Leo’s hands was braced against the door, knuckles white, and the other was gripping the side of his seat.

“That’s Lancelot. And would you rather I stopped and let the people shooting at us get you?” Eggsy asked sarcastically.

“Fuck off.” Leo said, sounding shakily amused. That was better than outright terrified, at least.

After a moment Eggsy asked, curiously, “So is the program the reason you wouldn’t sleep with people or are you really just not all that into one night stands?”

“I’m asexual.” Leo snapped. Eggsy sped through a yellow light, slamming on the gas, and wove through traffic, then made the next sharp turn he could, still trying to shake the people behind them. And if the chorus of honks behind him were any indication, he may have done it this time, actually. He’d need another few minutes to be sure, and confirmation from Roxy and Merlin that the car behind them was on a different path.

“Oh. Well, sorry, then.” Eggsy knew someone who worked in the ‘stables’ - Kingsman’s hangar and garage, collectively - who was asexual, and so he was familiar with the idea. He should have considered it an option, actually.

“Really?” Leo sounded surprised. “I’ve never had anybody apologize for hitting on me before, even if I’ve told them. And half the time I have to explain what asexuality even is.”

“One of the gearheads in Kingsman is asexual. She told me about it once while we were talking about cars.” Eggsy glanced in his mirrors, still not seeing the black SUV behind them. “She’s had similar problems. Though I do have a question. We had you on surveillance-”

“Thanks,” Leo muttered, darkly.

“-Before we made a move,” Eggsy continued, ignoring the interruption. “You left the club with people before. So where did you go, if not to have sex with them?”

“Most of them I left the club earlier than I met you there. Sometimes out to get coffee. One of them knew of a showing of Rocky Horror nearby that we went to. Another time when I showed up at the club really early, we ended up at Chin Chin. The liquid nitrogen ice cream place. Just anywhere to hang out at that wasn’t the club. A lot of people tend to be okay with it when you say you don’t want to fuck them but are totally fine with hanging out for a while.” Leo explained.

That made sense, Eggsy supposed. If Leo went out to clubs just to be around people, then going and spending time with someone in a less crowded setting would be a logical continuation. “So are you still in touch with any of them?” Eggsy asked.

“One or two.” Leo nodded.

“The car isn’t on your tail anymore.” Merlin said. “Bring him to the shop and he can give us the program. I’ll handle things from there.”

Eggsy gave a short, sharp nod that he knew the glasses would pick up, starting to navigate back to Savile Row. Something else made him curious and he asked, “What about Daniel Garrett?”

“Danny is none of your business.” Leo said, suddenly angry.

Eggsy arched an eyebrow. “Struck a nerve there, didn’t I? I knew he wasn’t just a roommate.”

“Congratulations, you’re brilliant. What the fuck does this have to do with me and the program?” Leo asked, voice sounding somewhat dangerous for the first time. So far the only vaguely brave thing he’d done was take the program away from people who would definitely use it the wrong way and sort of try to find people who may or may not use it the wrong way. Now he was standing up to someone who was a trained spy and his only hope at getting the program to a safe place, all for his ‘roommate’.

“Are you in love with him?” Eggsy asked, bluntly. After all, sex and love were two different things, and people could be wired for both or neither or just one or the other.

“No.” Leo shook his head. There was more to it than that and Eggsy almost asked for it, but then decided to do something Harry did to him, and just waited Leo out. They were driving slower now, blending in with traffic on purpose, so they had the time. After about a minute and a half of silence, Leo admitted, “But … we do have an arrangement. He’s ace, too. We’re basically dating, but without the sex. We like a lot of the same things, and we’re good about boundaries - we ask before initiating physical contact for the evening, because he’s not always okay with being touched, and I usually am - and it’s good.”

“So you’re on your way to being in love with him.” Eggsy said.

“Why does it matter so much to you how I label what I have with Danny?” Leo asked, frowning.

That made Eggsy falter, and he was very conscious of the glasses on his face, picking up everything they said, every motion of his head. “It shouldn’t matter to me. I’m sorry.” He said, and didn’t say anything else, but his mind went to Harry. They’d gotten together in a flurry of passion and life-affirming sex as soon as they could after Eggsy had found out that Harry was still alive, but they hadn’t quite defined anything yet. Eggsy slept over with Harry most of the time and had space in his closet and had his own drawers, but still lived at his own place with Michelle and Daisy. He knew Harry cared for him, knew he cared for Harry, but they hadn’t defined anything. And he knew a definition shouldn’t really matter to him, but it would be nice to have things more official. To know how serious they were for each other. Maybe it was because of Dean that he needed the security of having that definition, that knowledge that he and Harry were this or were that, for certain. Or maybe he just wanted to know. Either way, he wanted to know what he and Harry were to each other.

“Well, I was being snappish, too. It’s not your fault Danny and I are being vague.” Leo said. “I’m happy with what we have. But sometimes I do envy people who know what boxes their relationships can fit in.”

“Yeah.” Eggsy nodded, and he knew he sounded a little distant.

“When this mission is over, I am going to give you so much shit over discussing relationship issues with the mark. The one that one of us was supposed to have slept with.” Roxy said over the glasses, and Eggsy had to try hard not to snort with laughter.

* * *

 

It took them another twenty minutes to get to the shop, and Eggsy parked them and got out, leading Leo inside and down to the tube that took them to the Kingsman base out in the countryside. Merlin was waiting for them.

“Leo Walsh, this is Merlin.” Eggsy said, gesturing between them. “You’ll probably get along famously.”

Merlin held out his hand, and Leo shook it. Leo glanced at Eggsy. “You’re Mordred, he’s Merlin, the woman is Lancelot. Is there a Guinevere and an Arthur, too?”

“There’s an Arthur, and there’s a tenner in it for you if you call her Guinevere.” Eggsy grinned wide.

“Please don’t. At least not until after we’ve gotten all the use we can out of you.” Merlin said, sighing, with that expression on his face that Eggsy thought only Harry could bring out. “Anyway, where is the program?”

“In the seam of my pants.” Leo said, looking slightly embarrassed. “Is there somewhere I can go to take them off?”

“Right over here. But you will be monitored, so we know you aren’t doing anything to the thumb drive.” Merlin said, gesturing. He led Leo, with Eggsy following, to a currently unused room.

“Fine. Just as long as you aren’t watching directly.” Leo ducked into the room, and Merlin pulled the security feed up on his tablet, monitoring as Leo pulled his pants down and removed a hidden pocket from around the groin part of his pants, where it appeared to be held in with velcro. He pulled his pants back up and came out, and Merlin cut the feed. “Here you go.” Leo handed the drive to Merlin and after a pause asked, “Now what?”

“Now you come with me, show me how this works - you said it doesn’t work right yet? - and Eggsy goes home.” Merlin said, then added to Eggsy, “Drop the keys for the Shelby off in the stable. Someone will go pick it up later. You can take a cab home.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Eggsy griped. He wanted to tell Leo that if he ended up keeping his memory through this to get in touch and they’d chat again sometime, but he didn’t want to make that connection just in case he never saw Leo again. Just in case they used something like those amnesia darts on him to make him forget the whole thing had ever happened. He gave a wave and headed off.

* * *

 

Harry was still awake and sitting on the couch, reading a book, when Eggsy got to Harry’s, despite it being a little after 1am. “Oh. I wasn’t expecting you to be up.” Eggsy said, slightly startled. “I mean, I still wanted to see you, but I didn’t figure you’d actually be up when I got here.”

“Merlin gave me a heads up that your mission would be shorter than you thought, though he didn’t say why. I had a feeling you’d come here rather than your house.” Harry explained, standing and going over to Eggsy, placing his hands on Eggsy’s shoulders, hands drifting up his neck, along his jaw, stroking his cheekbones with his thumbs, before drifting lower again, over his arms and chest. It was somewhat sensual, but it was also practical, checking to see if Eggsy was hurt.

“I’m fine, Harry.” Eggsy said, giving him a little smile, head tilted up to look at him. “I didn’t end up sleeping with the mark, either. And neither did Roxy.”

“What happened?” Harry asked, frowning slightly. “Did the mission go wrong?”

“No. Actually it went better than we could have hoped for.” Eggsy shook his head and led Harry back to the couch, sitting down with him and explaining, “No. Roxy was the one who approached Walsh first. They talked, she flirted her ass off, but when she asked if he wanted to go to a hotel room, he said no. So after a while I approached him. I had a little bit more casual of an approach - I mostly just chatted with him. He mentioned not liking clubs except to people watch, I suggested we go somewhere else. And he turned me down, too.”

Harry’s lips quirked. “I hope that didn’t hurt your ego too badly.”

“Hush, you.” Eggsy said, grinning, too, and continued, “But then security for his company came in. Walsh basically begged me to get him out of there. Turns out he stole the program from his company to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands, and the information that Merlin picked up had been leaked by Walsh himself. He’s at Kingsman now, and Merlin took the program. It doesn’t work at the moment, and I’m not sure if they’re going to finish it or what, but it’s in our hands now. As is Walsh. Who is asexual, and that’s why he turned both of us down.” Eggsy wasn’t arrogant enough to think that that was the only reason that someone would him down, but he and Roxy had both hit it off with Leo, had both seemed to be flirting successfully. But that was because they were flirting and he was just chatting. When it came down to it they could have flirted with Leo for a thousand years and he’d still never been interested.

Harry nodded, watching Eggsy. “What about the security for the company he worked for? What happened with them?”

“They followed us out. Shot at us a little, but I got to the car Kingsman lent me for the mission, and we got the hell out of there. They followed, and kept shooting, but I was able to get away from them. Roxy followed in her car.” Eggsy said, keeping his voice calm and level. He didn’t want to make Harry worry any more than he already would, hearing Eggsy had been shot at. “They were bad shots though. Never came close to hitting me or Walsh.”

Harry nodded. “Okay. That does sound like your mission went well. Good job.”

Eggsy smiled. That felt good, having Harry’s approval on his mission - Harry was legendary amongst the other agents. He asked, curiously, “I know how the agents, the knights, are recruited. How are the others recruited? The techies and the gearheads and everyone else who works for Kingsman?”

“Actually, there’s a good chance your mark might end up recruited. That sort of thing is exactly how the others are recruited. You remember Amelia?” Harry asked, and Eggsy nodded. He didn’t think he’d ever forget. Until Harry told him she wasn’t dead, he’d thought she was the first death he’d been witness to. The first death he could have prevented. “She was recruited after managing to hack into our files. Not very far - we caught her quickly - but she did get through some of the first security protocols.”

“Oh.” Eggsy smiled. He had hoped that Leo would end up okay, and it sounded like he might. “So anything else?”

Harry shook his head. “No. I don’t think I want any more details of your mission right now.” He leaned forward and kissed Eggsy, lightly, on the lips. “How about we take this upstairs?”

Grinning, Eggsy nodded. He was still working his way through the adrenaline, and that would help. “That sounds like a really good idea.”

* * *

 

The next morning they both woke up later than usual. Which was to be expected, given the late night they’d had. Eggsy showered first and dressed, then went downstairs and started making breakfast. They’d made omelettes together enough that he could make them himself without too much trouble.

His omelettes were always edible, at least, though he wouldn’t call them particularly amazing, and he knew what Harry liked.

He washed everything, then started chopping. Mushrooms, onions, peppers. Upstairs he heard the shower turn off, and he started putting the omelettes together properly, with cheese in them, too.

By the time Harry came downstairs, the omelettes were on the plate and the dirty dishes from cooking were in the sink.

“This looks delicious.” Harry said, kissing Eggsy’s cheek and pouring tea into the cups at their places, fixing each cup as they liked it.

“Thanks.” Eggsy said, sitting down and digging in.

Harry started to eat, too, and made a slight hum of satisfaction. “Thank you, Eggsy. This is just as delicious as it looks.”

Eggsy smiled. “I thought I did a pretty good job, too.” He ate a few more bites, then asked, “Hey, Harry? You know I love you, right?”

“Yes.” Harry nodded, looking up at him. “And I love you, too. Where is this coming from?”

“I got to talking with Walsh last night and I realized I wasn’t sure if I’d ever said it that plainly. Or how exactly our relationship is defined. That’s all.” Eggsy shrugged a little, glancing down at his plate and pushing a bit of omelette around with his fork.

“Eggsy.” Harry’s voice was gentle and yet firm. “I know you love me, and I know you’ve known I love you. We are men of action, both of us. The things we’ve done for each other mean more to us than the words we say. However, I know that sometimes everyone needs to hear things said, and so if you ever need me to tell you how much I care, I will. And I’ll let you know if I need to hear it. All right?”

“Yeah.” Eggsy nodded. It had been good to be able to see how much Harry cared, to know that way, but hearing it was an entirely different kind of reassuring.

“As far as how it’s defined, that’s up to us. Partners, boyfriends, lovers … whatever you want to call us.” Harry said, shrugging.

“Partners makes me think too about work,” Eggsy said, wrinkling his nose. “Lovers sounds stiff and formal. And we’re anything but.” They’d proved that last night. Several times.

“How do you like boyfriends, then? It makes me feel very young, just the same way you make me feel young.” Harry smiled at him across their plates, reaching out and taking Eggsy’s hand, squeezing it tightly once before letting it go.

“I like it.” Eggsy grinned.

“Good.” Harry inclined his head towards Eggsy’s omelette. “Finish your breakfast, my darling. We’re going to be late. I think Arthur will forgive it from you, considering your mission ran so late last night, but I think she might be a little irritated with me.”

Eggsy laughed. “Oh I doubt it. I don’t think anyone expects you to show up anywhere on time now.” He dug into his omelette, though, ignoring Harry’s indignant expression. In his head, he repeated it. _Boyfriends_ , and a warm sense of familiarity and belonging spread over him, as well as a little bit of a childish flutter in his stomach. Yeah. That was good. What they had was good. And maybe they weren’t all that conventional, given they were both spies and they had a huge age gap that sometimes Harry fretted over and sometimes Eggsy did, but they were happy, and that was all that mattered.

 


End file.
